When It Rains It Pours
by Blake B. Shelton
Summary: Takes place three years after the finale. Theresa and Ethan have been traveling the world happily. Things aren't so good back home. Crane Industries is on the verge of financial ruin, with Julian scrambling to save the company before it goes under. Adding to this Alistair has discovered another Crane grandchild, while elsewhere Kay and Miguel suffer a devastating loss.
1. Chapter 1

**Harmony, New England: 2011**

It has been three years since Tabitha had saved the town from a raging volcano. In that time, Theresa had been happily married to Ethan and they were expecting a third child. They had been traveling the world going to such exotic places as Bermuda, Greece, the Bahamas and Italy. Things weren't going as smoothly back home, however. Crane Industries had been in financial straights for quite some time, and Julian had been working to save the company. It didn't help matters that Alistair had used the company's money to fund his numerous evil schemes. He had also regularly lied to his board of directors, as well as embezzling the company funds. Alistair had slowly been running the company into the ground for years, either being too blind to see what was right in front of him, or simply not caring for the likelihood of his employees, the latter was probably the case.

Alistair's activities had also provoked an investigation by the FBI and IRS, tying Julian up in litigation for months.

The pressure was beginning to get to him. Vincent had been locked up in a maximum security prison, with regular visits with a psychiatrist, but so far there had been no progress. Was his son doomed to be a freak and psychopath for the rest of his life? Fox was dead, that night still weighed heavily in his mind. As for Pretty, she had been confined to a mental institution out of state, and would probably remain there for the foreseeable future, her doctors hadn't expressed any optimism. As much as he hated to admit it, his daughter would probably never function in normal society ever again.

Julian wondered where he had gone wrong. Should he of been a more attentive parent when his children were small? He had been largely absent during they're formative years, jetting from one place to another on business for Alistair. What really hurt Julian was the revelation that Ethan wasn't his biological son, but despite that he still cared deeply for the person he raised up to be a man, his boy. That wouldn't change whether his blood flowed through Ethan's veins or not.

The only person who managed to reach adulthood in one piece was Fancy, no thanks to his father that is. Fancy adored her grandfather, he had once read her bedtime stories and sat her on his knee, showering her with gifts, fancy toys, expensive cars, jewelry, you name it he bought it for her. She was the only person he considered a "true" Crane in recent years. That all ended when Fancy finally found out for herself what kind of man Alistair truly was. She had been kind to him, she was the only friend he had in the world, and he more or less spat in her face in return.

And Vincent, oh Vincent... The very thought of him made Julian sick to his stomach. How wrong was it for Julian to detest his own son? He knew it was wrong to feel that way, but he just did.

Best not to dwell on that he thought to himself. Where was he?

Then his mind wondered onto his father, Alistair. Yes, the great and powerful Alistair Crane. The evil, vile, piece of filth called Alistair Crane. He had once been a somewhat caring, if distant father, but that was a long time ago. What happened to turn his father into such a harsh man? So evil and deranged? He had more or less ignored his sister Sheridan in favor of Julian. Alistair had been molding him for years into the ideal son and businessman, and for a while, Julian was his right hand man. When his father said jump, he jumped, no questions asked. Heaven help you if you didn't do exactly what Alistair said, when he said it.

Julian pondered all of this as he drove home. Having been momentarily pulled from his thoughts, he glanced down at his watch.

10:35 it read.

"Blast it." Julian said to himself, Eve usually went to bed around nine. More than likely she would be fast asleep when he got home. It killed him to spend so much time at the office, and so little time with his wife. Julian made his way up the hill where the Crane mansion sat. He then drove down the driveway that was concealed by numerous trees and shrubbery.

Warily, he opened the car door and stepped out. Julian let out a stretch and began to walk towards the opulent house. He walked down the sidewalk and up the stairs to the door. Unlocking it, he stepped inside, where he sat his keys down on a nearby table and let out a sigh. The house was dark, Eve had gone to bed hours earlier and the servants had all gone home.

Not making a peep, Julian made his way toward the wine cabnet and fixed himself a drink, brandy on the rocks, and took a seat on the couch.

"Cheers." He said to no one in particular as he raised his glass and took a sip. After sitting in the dark room for close to thirty minutes, Julian put away the glass and made his way upstairs. Opening the door to his bedroom, and taking care not to wake the sleeping Eve, Julian quietly made his way inside. He slowly sat down on the soft bed. Just then Eve let out a groan.

"Julian... Julian is that you?" she asked, half asleep.

"Its only me, my love... go back to sleep." he said as he kissed her gently on the forehead. Laying on his back, Julian pulled the covers over himself. Perhaps tomorrow would be better?

Before he knew it, the night had come and gone and the sun began to rise. Downstairs the Cranes' new butler Philippe answered the door. His eyes went wide when he saw who was on the other side. None other than Alistair Crane.

"Mr. Crane?" Philippe said.

"Out of my way." Alistair said as he brushed past him, he came so close he bumped Philippe's shoulder.

"Mr. Crane... I'm not sure you should be here."

"Well, I didn't ask you, now did I?" Alistair replied rudely.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Eve asked as she made her way down the stairs wearing a robe.

"I live here!"

"You know very well you're not welcome here!"

"Well, its my house... my name is on the deed. Therefore, I'll come and go as I damn well please!"

"As a matter of fact father..." Julian began, having appeared on the stairway. "No... you won't." he said, he had gotten in his father's face, more or less whispering the last part.

"And how's that?" Alistair asked.

"I had your name removed from any and all documents having to do with the ownership of this house... As it stands..." he began, stepping towards his father. "You're trespassing, now you can either leave of your own volition, or I'll call the police and have them throw you out of here..."

"Ooh, Sam Bennett and his band of miscreant do-gooders he calls "officers", I'm so scarred!"

"What exactly is it you came here for, father?" Julian asked, half interested.

"I came here to convince you to do what needs to be done."

"And what would that be?"

"Do you really have to ask, son?"

"Just come out and say it father... what is it exactly you want?" Julian asked, tension could be felt in the room.

"What I want..." he began to speak, taking a few steps toward his son. "Is my company back... I want Crane Industries!"

"You must be more deranged than I thought, to think I'd willingly give it back... The answer is no."

"Nobody tells me no, most of all my own son..."

"Well then, I'm afraid you're going to have to get used to it then... Besides, I'm more than qualified to lead Crane Industries." he turned away and approached the cabnet to pour a drink.

"Don't give me that garbage... You couldn't lead ants to a picnic Julian, what makes you think you can lead my company?"

"First of all, its not your company... It hasn't been in years, second you all but ran it into the ground when you were in charge. Wake up, father. The FBI are investigating us, the IRS is wondering where all those tax dollars went, meanwhile I'm tied up with our legal team trying to figure out a way out of this mess. We've got lawsuits left and right, it is utter pandemonium father, and its all because of you!"

"You know, all of this could of been avoided if you had made me CEO..."

"Avoided?! How could you possibly have avoided it?!

"You never could hide the skeletons, Julian..."

"And what would you have done, father?"

"Simple. First I would have disposed of that dirty money..."

"Yes, the same dirty money you yourself collected from the mob..."

"Do me a favor and never interrupt me again, son..."

"Oh, by all means excuse me."

"And secondly... I would of paid off who ever needed paying off... and If anyone threatened to bring any other lawsuits against my company, or if any other outsiders threatened it, I'd gladly have them all killed if need be!"

"Oh, yes... there's the Alistair everyone knows and despises! What are you going to do father? Have someone cut the breaks on the car of the woman who's son was killed in our cannery because of negligence on the part of your foreman? Or maybe you'd have the board members of the Harmony Better Business Bureau gunned down? Or maybe, maybe you'd have the mayor of Boston assassinated? Goodness knows you and him never got alone."

"Matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you had Harrison Winthrop poisoned, and he didn't die of a heart attack."

"You of all people know Harrison and I were friends."

"Oh, you have friends now?"

"Look, I came here to talk, now lets talk..." Alistair said, getting annoyed.

"I'm done talking, father... I want you out of my house, now."

"You poor, deluded fool... I could fix all your problems in an instant, I could make this whole mess disappear, and you're gonna stand there and deny me what is rightfully mine?

"Stop deluding yourself, father... anyone at Crane who were once loyal to you, perhaps even your confidant... I've long since fired them all. You don't have anyone left in your corner, its over."

"Its not over son... its not over until I say its over!"

"Alright, Alistair..." Eve began to speak up "You've spoken your peace, now please leave!"

"You... unhand me!" he yelled, grabbing Eve's arm and twisting it.

"You let go of her!" Julian yelled, grabbing his father by the coat and shoving him backwards.

"You... if you ever lay a hand on my wife again, I'll kill you. I don't know how, I don't know when, but I'll kill you."

"Good luck with that, everyone in this town has tried to kill me at one point... and it never sticks."

"Get out of my house, father..." he said, Alistair just stood there.

"GET OUT!" he yelled.

"We're not done here yet, son... I'll be back." and with that Alistair turned around and went out the door.

"Are you alright, my dear?" Julian asked Eve, now crying and trembling.

"Yeah, I'm fine Julian... I just wish that man would go somewhere far away, and never bother us again!"

"Me too, Eve... me too." he said as he comforted her.

Outside, Alistair's phone rung as he exited the living room onto the porch.

"What?" Alistair said as he answered the phone. "Well, its about time you called." It was the private investigator he had hired to look into a little matter of paternity.

"Did you look into what we discussed?"

"I did..." the investigator replied.

"And?" Alistair asked.

"The tests are conclusive... she's definitely your granddaughter, congratulations Mr. Crane."

Alistair chuckled at the sound of the news. Another Crane to mold. Another Crane heir to replace Ethan and his little brat.

"Well, isn't this just perfect... I really appreciate you doing this, detective."

"I was more than happy to do it... you have a good day, Mr. Crane." he hung up.

Fool. Alistair thought to himself. That idiotic detective had no idea what he had just set in motion.

"Nobody tells me no..." he said, thinking back to what Julian had said.

"I'll make Julian pay dearly for what he took from me... how surprised he'll be when he finds out I stole yet another child from him." He took a picture out of his wallet and looked at it triumphantly. It was a picture of Viki Chatsworth.

"Victoria Crane... Soon enough my dear, soon enough." he said, laughing evilly as he walked back to his car.

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

At the Bennett home, Tabitha had woken up early before anyone else and made her way to the kitchen. She outstretched her arms and let out a yawn as she entered the doorway.

"Ah, what a beautiful morning" she said to herself. She was sure the rest of the house would be up soon enough, might as well fix breakfast. She looked over to the sink, dirty plates were strown all around the place.

"Oh, Kay... This place is a disaster!" She said in disgust as she walked toward the sink. She let out a sigh as she turned on the water and grabbed a plate. As she stood there scrubbing the plate, a thought occured to her.

"What am I doing? I'm a witch... My powers might not be as powerful as they once were, but surely I can at least fix breakfast with them!" she sat the dish back in the sink and took a few steps backward. She closed her eyes and rubbed her hands together trying to think. Purple energy surged through her hands, and to the dishes. In the blink of an eye they were all sparkling clean.

"Well, that was easy... Now to fix breakfast!" energy surged through her hands once again, this time toward the fridge and pantry, an egg carton and a loaf of sliced bread were levetated onto the bar. She opened the carton and began to crack the eggs into a bowl. "1, 2, 3..." she paused for a moment. "Might as well cook them all." she sat the container back down and pulled up a chair at the table. Magical energy surged through her yet again, the eggs began to rapidly crack themselves.

"Ah..." Tabitha laid her feet up on the table and made herself at home. She closed her eyes for a moment of relaxation.

POP!

Pop? what egg goes pop? Tabitha thought to herself. She lifted up her eyes and let out a loud gasp, the toaster kept toasting, the eggs kept multiplying and nearly overflowing in the bowl. Orange juice had formed into a small twister, sticks of butter circled in the air. Tabitha raced up from the table.

"Stop! Cease! Desist!" she yelled frantically "Hocus pocus? alakazam! bippity boppity boo!" she tried a plethora of magic words in a futile attempt to halt the chaos. As if things couldn't get worse, Sam walked into the room.

"Morning, Taba... What in the world?!"

"Sam, look out Sam!" she yelled as the eggs began to shoot out in all directions, Sam managing to take cover under the table. Moving quickly, Tabitha crawled towards it.

"Tabitha, what did you do?!" Sam asked Tabitha, who had just crawled under the table with him.

"Well, I was trying to make breakfast, and things went a little... south for the winter?"

"A little?"

"Its nothing to worry about, I'm sure it'll stop... eventually."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Well, at least you'll have a lifetime supply of eggs..." she said. Just then Kay walked into the room wearing pajamas.

"Tabitha whats..."

"Kay, just don't stand there... hit the dirt!" she yelled. Kay jumped out of the way, nearly avoiding one of the eggs, she quickly crawled to where Sam and Tabitha were.

"What is happening?" Kay asked.

"Isn't it obvious, dear? We've hunkered down for a good old fashioned camping trip... what do you think is happening you twit?!"

"Well, it looks like its storming eggs, toast and butter..." she replied.

"You think?!"

"Alright, calm down... Just everyone calm down! We won't solve anything arguing... Honey, if me and Tabitha cover you do you think you can think of a way to reverse this?!"

"I... I think so."

"Tabitha, can you draw they're fire?"

"Oh, sure... Send the witch into the lion's den!"

"You'll need something for cover... There, that frying pan should do the trick!"

"Alright, on the count of three, we move! Tabitha, you make a break for that pan, you got it?" Tabitha nodded.

"Okay, one, two, three!" they all sprinted out from under the table, Tabitha rushed to grab the pan, all the while dodging a barrage of egg fire. She swiftly grabbed it and used it in a defensive position up against her face. She continued to slowly advance toward the bowl, dozens of eggs hitting the pan and busting.

"Alright... now, honey!" Sam said from his vantage point on the other side of the bar. Kay stiffened, unsure of what to do. Gritting her teeth, blue magic flowed through the tips of her fingers, immeditately putting a stop to the chaos. "Yes!" she yelled, jumping up and down in excitement like a school girl. "I did it!"

"Alright, Kay... relax, its not as if you just won the summer olympics..."

"Ahem..." Sam said. Looking over to him, the two saw his face was covered in egg.

"Tell you what, Tabitha..." he said, wiping the egg from his face "Next time, I'll make breakfast... how's that?"

"Peachy." she said.

Things having finally settled down, Sam excused himself to go get cleaned up. Kay lifted the chairs that had been knocked down during the commotion back into position, and Tabitha dusted herself off.

"Remind me never to do that again, Kay. Fixing breakfast is strictly for mortals!"

"You could try doing it without magic, you know..."

"Without magic? perish the thought, my dear. From now on its strictly nothing but earl grey tea for me."

"I'm sure you'll get the hang of things with your magic again sometime..." Kay said reassuringly as she set the table.

"I appreciate it dear, I truly do... But I'm not sure I'll ever be able to do magic like I used to ever again."

"Ah, don't talk like that, Tabitha... I'm sure everything will work out in the end, just like it did with Miguel and me, like it did for everyone else in Harmony."

"Kay, don't get sentimental on me... you know that stuff bugs me!... Anyway, I'm not so sure." Tabitha said as she took a seat at the table. Kay leaned down and hugged her and placed her arms around her lovingly.

"It'll be okay..." she said.

"Thats easy for you to say, dearie. You have a husband... I haven't had a man interested in me in over nine hundred years..." she trailed off.

"Of course... I did once date Vlad the Impaler..."

"Well, what happened?" Kay asked as she took a seat next to her.

"Well, we decided we should see other people... Then there was Ivan the Terrible, and let me tell you sweetie... that man was terrible in more ways than one, if you catch my drift."

"Oh... you mean?"

"Of course, don't act so surprised... it has happened you know."

"Then in the eighteenth century I had a little fling with Napoleon..."

"And what happened with that?"

"Well, he was married, and a bit conquer happy... It was always conquer this, conquer that..."

"Then there was George Washington..."

"No... you didn't!"

"I did, matter of fact I came this close to being Mrs. George Washington..." she said, gesturing with her thumb and index finger. "Anyway, enough about my love life... or my lack of one."

"Mommy, mommy!" Endora said as she came running into the kitchen and jumped into her mother's lap.

"Endora, sweatpea... how did you sleep?"

"Fine..."

"Can I have a cookie?" she asked.

"Endora, sweetheart... You know my policy on sweets, no cookies in the morning... your doctor says they make you hyper, after all."

"Please..."

"Oh, here..." she said, grabbing a box off the middle of the table "Try one of these... fat free cookies is it?" Tabitha took one out of the box and took a bite of it.

"Bleah!" she said, promptly spitting it out. "That tastes terrible! What are they feeding children these days?"

"Well, it could have something to do with it being four months out of date..." Kay replied, taking a look at the back of the box.

"Oh, gimme that!" Tabitha said, grabbing it from Kay. "What do they put in these things, anyway?" she looked at the description on the back.

"Hmm, Mariachi Brothers Fat-Free cookies... guarenteed to keep you slim and trim, oh your money back. Oh, please! I could write a better slogan in my sleep!"

"Well, I certainly won't let my dear Endora eat this sloppily made slime from a box... No sir, my daughter is going to eat like a princess, no matter what that doctor says..." She got up and made her way towards the pantry and pulled out a box of Cap'n Crunch. Opening the box, she poured it into a bowl, and then filled it up with milk, she walked back to the table, and handed it to Endora.

"Here you go, sweety... You know Kay, this cereal reminds me of an adventure I once shared with Blackbeard..."

"Wait... You were a pirate, Tabitha?"

"Well, it was the seventeenth century... people did some crazy things back then."

"So, Endora... what are you going as for Halloween?" Kay asked.

"Oh, not Halloween..." Tabitha replied.

"What gives, Tabitha? I thought you of all people would love Halloween?"

"Ah, yes... There's nothing I enjoy more than giving away free candy to sniveling, snot-nosed children wearing cheap masks of Richard Nixon!" Tabitha replied sarcastically.

"Back in my day we knew how to "party hardy" as they say... Why, back in my academy days my girlfriends and I would summon up a horde of zombies, ghosts and goblins... mix potions and do each other up in hideous hair styles, a typical girls' night if you will. The living dead are surprisingly pleasant, believe it or not."

"The way I see it people have forgotten how to celebrate Halloween... Its become too commercialized and cheap."

"I was once friends with Victor Frankenstein himself you know... Oh, that man could drive women in the village crazy with lust."

"But I thought Frankenstein was just a fictional character?" Kay asked.

"Fictional? That's what they want you to think, dear!... Why he's as real as you or me."

"Well, I would love to stick around and listen to you complain about how they did things back in your day... but I have to go get Maria ready, I'm taking her to shop for a halloween costume later today."

"Oh, Kay please take me with you... I cannot stand one more day in this boring old house!"

"But your house was old..."

"I know that, but my house had an old world flair to it... Whereas this house is just average, plain even."

"Alright, quit your griping you can come..."

"Oh thank you, thank you Kay... You won't even know I'm there..."

Later...

Tabitha, Kay, Endora and Maria made they're way inside a costume shop... as Tabitha walked by the clerk at the counter, he began to speak.

"Nice costume... I see you're ready for Halloween early."

"Costume?" Tabitha said to herself as she stopped for a moment. She then continued walking.

Tabitha went down isle after isle, browsing at the assortment of mediocre costumes. Then something caught her eye.

"Hmm... Sparkling Vampire? Re-enact scenes from the popular Twilight franchise? Oh please, the real Dracula would never be caught dead acting in such drivel." Tabith put the costume back and continued to browse.

"Hmm, what do we have here... Medusa Barbie? admittedly, thats a pretty good concept." Tabitha continued down the isle.

Eventually, Tabitha found herself in the mask isle. Hideous masks. Surely she'd find something of interest.

"Hmm..." she glanced at a mask of the wolfman.

"I've seen better." she said, looking at one of the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

"Not bad..."

"Interesting..."

"Dull..."

"Boring..."

"Sleep inducing..."

"I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole!"

"Not if it was the last mask on earth..."

"Disgraceful."

"Idiotic."

"Wrong, just wrong..."

"Bad."

"Terrible..."

"Bad, bad to the nineth degree..."

"Now that's just stupid!"

This continued on for several more hours.

"Is there nothing interesting in this entire store?! Tabitha yelled to no one in particular, a mother and her child gave a her a weird look.

"What are you looking at, missy?" Tabitha replied. The lady simply cringed and walked off. "There isn't a decent costume in this entire third rate depot of mediocrity!"

"Tabitha... come and see Maria, she finally found a costume she likes." Kay replied.

"Are you ready, mommy?" Maria asked from the dressing room.

"We're ready sweety, you can come on out..."

Maria emerged from the dressing room dressed as a princess.

"I don't know sweety... wouldn't you rather go as a ten foot troll or a three headed hydra?" Tabitha asked.

"Tabitha, she's only eight years old..." Kay replied.

"I know that, dear... but its never too early to take up an interest in the supernatural."

"How does it feel, honey? does it fit good?" Kay asked.

"It fits good..."

"I want to be a princess, too!" Endora said.

"Oh, come on now, sweetpea... a princess costume isn't for you!" Endora gave a pouty face.

"Oh, alright then... you can go take a look at them, see if you find one you like..."

"A princess... Really, Kay?"

"Whats wrong with a princess?"

"Whats wrong with it? What isn't wrong with it?! For one thing, it teaches children to have unrealistic expectations, thats what. We're supposed to believe if you take one look at a handsome man, you'll immediately fall in love! And before you know it, here they come with a giant McMansion, fine clothes, well-read and mannered, and a baby carriage... All the while the neighbors wonder why they show such affection for one another, while they play tug of war over who gets custody of the children." Tabitha had unintentionally went on a tangent. "But, I digress."

"Its just a fantasy, Tabitha..."

"Oh, sure... that's how it starts! And before you know it, we'll all be living in a post apocalyptic wasteland where princesses rule everything... just like in that James Cameron film... The Verminator!"

"Don't you mean Terminator?"

"Whatever!" Tabitha said as she left to follow Endora. Kay simply let out a groan.

Elsewhere...

Alistair was riding in the back of his limo when a call came in for him.

"Good morning..."

"Good morning? Thats not something I'd expect you of all people to say...' It was Spike calling from prison.

"Damnit, Spike... how did you get this number? Uh... nevermind. what do you want?"

"What do I want? You've got some nerve asking me that, old man!"

"I'm sort of busy at the moment, so if you don't mind..."

"No, you listen to me and you listen good old man... You promised you'd help me get my child back, and then disappeared on me!"

"Whats your point?" Alistair asked.

"My point is I did a things for you, terrible things I wouldn't even tell my mother about..."

"You have a mother? I just assumed you were raised by a pack of homeless clowns..." Alistair replied sarcastically.

"Yeah, well we don't talk much anymore."

"I bet. If I had a son like you I wouldn't talk to you either."

"Look, you owe me Alistair..."

"I don't owe you anything, Spike... you were paid to do a job and you did it, and now you're of no more use to me. You've outlived your usefulness so to speak."

"Come on, Alistair... I thought you were on my side?"

"I was never on your side, Spike. You were a means to an end, nothing more."

"What?! After everything I did for you you're just gonna abandon me?"

"It just so happens that I have more important matters to deal with... and that doesn't include you're problems too.

"Alistair you gotta help me get my son away from Jessica... she'll raise him up to be a goody two-shoes, she'll ruin him!"

"Tell it to someone who cares... bye now."

"Alistair, don't you hang up on me... Alistair, don't you dare hang up on me! Alistair!"

"Come on, Lester... time to go back to your cell." the guard said.

Alistair smirked "What an idiot... He actually thought I gave a damn about what happened to him!... Note to self, find henchmen who aren't as stupid as Spike."

Alistair arrived at the halfway house situated within the confines of the Reilly Institute for Psychological Disorders. Alistair made his way inside. He took a piece of paper out of his wallet and glanced at the address written on it.

"Hmm, this is the place." he said, making his way up the stairs to one of the many buildings on the campus. He proceeded to ring the doorbell. No answer, he rung it again.

"Coming!" somone yelled out from the other side. Alistair waited for several seconds. Finally, the door opened. A short blonde girl of eighteen emerged, and was shocked at seeing Alistair standing at her door.

"No..." she half-whispered "Not you."

"Hello, Viki..."

"Wha... what are you doing here?"

"What, you were expecting Santa Claus, maybe? Well I'm no jolly, overweight elf... but I did bring you a present."

"Look, whatever it is you're selling old man, I'm not buying..." she said as she tried to shut the door, Alistair using his foot to block it.

"Oh, I think you'll be interested to hear what I have to say..."

"I really don't need you here right now... now if you'd just leave I'd really appreciate it!"

"In your dreams, little girl... I'm not going anywhere until you hear me out. I'll stay out here all night if I have to."

"Either you leave, or I'll call the police!"

"A cold blooded killer calling the police for help? Now thats funny!" he said, letting out a laugh.

"You leave right now, or I'll scream!"

"Do it and you'll be dead long before anyone comes to help you... Now are you gonna let me in or not?"

"I guess I don't have a choice."

"No, as a matter of fact you don't." she let him in.

"Hmm, nice place you got here..."

"Spare me your small talk... what do you want?"

"So you want to get right to business, eh?"

"Alright then... have a seat."

"I'm going to tell you something, and you're going to sit here and listen to it, okay?" Viki nodded.

"Good. Now, some years ago my son Julian, you know him right? the man you stabbed?" he said, gesturing with his hand.

"I remember him."

"Some years ago he and his wife Ivy were expecting a child, a baby girl... Now for one reason or another my son and I had... disagreements shall we say. You see my son never wanted another child, he had made that very clear to her. Of course one thing led another, you know how these things are. Sure enough, she got pregnant. At first she kept it secret from my son, she'd thought perhaps she'd give it up for adoption. They weren't the happiest of couples at that time, but once my son found out, he demanded she carry the child to term, so she did. Now, the night she went into labor the doctor on call that night was on my payroll, I had them drug her and take the baby. When she woke up, I had the doctors tell her the baby was stillborn."

"Why are you telling me this, what does any of this have to do with me?"

"Because..." he leaned in close to her. "That baby girl... was you."

Viki blinked, not sure if she had heard him right.

"What are you talking about..."

"You're a Crane, Viki... congratulations."

"N-No, thats impossible, I can't be a Crane..."

"And why not? You certainly have what it takes to be a Crane... You're strong, independent, assertive, and when someone crosses you, they die."

"No..." Viki took a step back "I'm not like that anymore... My therapist, we've made progress... I'm no murderer Mr. Crane, I'm a good girl now!"

"Don't give me that..." he said with gritted teeth as he grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me... you're hurting me!"

"You killed once, and you'll kill again... its in your blood, Viki..."

"No!"

"Your name is Victoria Michelle Crane, and I'm your grandfather, whether you like it or not..." he said, grabbing her by the chin.

"If what you're saying is true... How did you know who I am, and why did you wait this long to track me down?"

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you the story... You see, my grandmother's family, they died in a fire... after that she lost her marbles, went coo coo for cocoa puffs! She tried to kill her husband and they're children, that man was Jonathan Crane, my grandfather."

"What happened to her?" she said, almost afraid to ask.

"They locked her up in the south wing of the Crane mansion, where she spent the rest of her days as a reclusive shell of a human being."

"Ever since our meeting in that hospital room, I saw something in you... I couldn't really put my finger on it at that moment, something about your hair, your eyes, your voice... There was something familiar about it. but I didn't know what. It was as though I saw a little bit of myself in you. I had to wonder how a seemingly innocent looking girl like you could turn out to be such a whack job... then I thought about my grandmother and her hereditary mental illness, and started to put the pieces together."

"I kept an eye on you for several years, then for one reason or another I lost track of you for a couple years. Eventually you would end up in the care of Esme's sister and her husband. Truthfully I had forgotten all about it, until that chance meeting in my hospital room. Then it all came back."

"That still doesn't explain how you found out who I was..."

"Simple... While you were distracted by Ethan and Esme, I noticed a small strand of your hair had fallen onto my hospital bed, well I had my suspicions, so I decided to grab onto it and use it later. But due to some unforeseen circumstances, it took me awhile to get a DNA test done. Of course you would know all this, because you were the one who shot me. You should of aimed better Viki.

"How did you know it was me?" she said, a pouty look on her face.

"Well, you of all people should know that I know about everything that happens in this town... Down to the most minute detail, I can tell you things you couldn't imagine in a million years... You wouldn't believe the kind of secrets people keep around here, and secrets, my dear... have a way of coming out, if you know what I mean."

"What are you going to do? Tell Julian about me?"

"No, of course not... why would I tell him anything? I'm the one who stole you from him and Ivy in the first place, so I have nothing to gain."

"You know, its ironic..."

"What is?" she asked.

"I mean, its kind of funny, really... You stabbing Julian where you did, considering he's your father."

"He got what was coming to him, no one comes between me and my aunt..."

"Oh, now there's the Viki I know! That murdering psychopath that doesn't let anyone get in her way..."

"I'm only telling the truth."

"Yes, well... I do believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"Who said I'd be your friend?"

"Who said... you had a choice?"

"Well, when you put it that way... fine."

"Ah, thats my girl..." Alistair said as put his hands on her shoulders. "You and I are going to do great things together... deliciously evil things."

"What is it you had in mind?" she asked, turning around to face him.

"A little bit of this, a little bit of that."

"And what am I supposed to do? I just can't leave this place..."

"Oh, I took the liberty of taking care of that for you, These..." he said, pulling some papers out of his coat pocket. "Are your release papers, simply sign them, and you're free to go." he said as he handed a pin.

"Just like that, no strings attached?"

"Just like that."

she hesitated for a moment.

"Whats the matter? Don't you trust your dear grandfather?" Viki grabbed the pin, and began to move her hand to sign it.

"No... I can't do it, I'm sorry, I just can't..." she said, hugging her arms to her shoulders.

"Come on, Viki... Just sign these, and you'll be able to do whatever you want, go wherever you want, with all the resources in the world... We could show the whole world what it truly means to be a Crane." he said, whispering in her ear.

"I... just don't think I have what it takes to be a Crane."

"Oh, you definitely have what it takes... and then some."

"Just think of it Viki, if we'd join forces... Our enemies would fall like dominoes. we'd crush them beneath our feet!"

"I just don't understand... Why would you want me as a granddaughter? I mean, I killed your grandson."

"Who, Fox? Ah, that grandson of mine was dead weight anyway. Really, they're all dead weight if you ask me... you and I are the only true Cranes out of the whole bunch."

"But, my parents..."

"Julian and Ivy? Oh they're not you're parents, not in any meaningful way that is... no way it counts atleast."

"They gave me life..."

"They never wanted you Viki, they abadoned you... Julian did the same thing to Vincent."

"No, I don't believe it... They're my parents, I was they're little girl..." she turned around to face Alistair, tears in her eyes.

"How could they not want me? My own parents?"

"Join me, Viki... and together we'll make Julian and Ivy pay... Channel that pain you feel, channel it like a weapon, and when the time is right, it'll go off, and Julian will find out first hand what it means to suffer."

"Well..." he smirked "What do you say?"

"Julian must die..." she said, burning hatred in her eyes.

"Ah, that's my girl..." he said as she signed the papers.

"Alright then... I'll show these to the good man in charge here, while you pack your things." he turned around and made his way toward the door.

"Thank you." Viki said. Alistair was surprised at the statement.

"There's no need to thank me, my dear... I'm merely undoing an injustice, a girl with your skills doesn't belong in a place like this." and with that, Alistair walked out.

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

Alistair tapped his foot impatiently waiting for Viki to get her things together. That was a big mistake, obviously as he had been waiting forty-five minutes. In that time the porch had filled up with bags of every sort. Making his way up the stairs was Alistair's chauffeur, a rather feeble man named Alan.

"Will that be all, Mr. Crane?" he asked, out of breath from carrying the first load of bags to the car.

"No, I'm afraid not Alan..." as if one cue, Viki appeared with a suitcase.

"How much stuff do you own, anyway?" Alistair inquired.

"Its just the bags, the suitcase and a couple other things." she said as she headed back inside to retrieve even more stuff.

"A couple?" Alistair asked.

"I'm too old for this, sir..." Alan added.

"Yes, I know you're too old, Alan... You're too old for a lot of things." there was silence for a few moments.

"What is taking her so long? She has enough stuff out here to start her own cosmetics firm, even Fancy didn't have this much, and I bought that girl everything."

"Yes. How it must feel to be so young..."

Just then Viki reappeared.

"Finally... Are you ready to leave now?"

"Just about... I just need one more thing."

"Not to worry, Alan will get it... won't you, Alan?"

"But sir, I..."

"Come now, my dear... we have things to do, places to go, people to see..." Alistair said, gently pushing Viki towards the car.

"But what about my breakfast?" Viki asked.

"Don't worry about that now, you'll get a big mac, or double down, or triple down, or whatever it is you kids eat these days!" Viki stepped into the limo first and sat on the left side, followed by Alistair who sat on the other seat situated perpendicularly to where Viki sat.

"Well now, isn't this cozy..."

"Shouldn't we help him?" Viki asked.

"Who, Alan? Oh he'll be fine... Anyway, lets talk about you right now."

"What about me?" she asked.

"Well, for one thing you'll need some new clothes... No granddaughter of mine will be caught wearing those ratty things!"

Viki looked down at her shirt. "Whats wrong with my clothes?"

"There's really nothing wrong with the clothes... But we Cranes have a certain way we dress, we maintain a certain level of decorum. When you walk into a room, all eyes should be on you. Let the commoners marvel at your level of sophistication, safe in the knowledge they'll never look like you in a million years."

"And... that's what you do?"

"More or less, yes."

No wonder nobody likes you, old man... Viki thought to herself.

"So, Viki... tell me about yourself."

"There's nothing to tell really..."

"Oh, but human beings are so complicated my dear, and they always have stories to tell, whether they know it or not... Besides, I want to get to know my granddaughter better."

"You already know everything worth knowing about me..."

"Well, surely there's more... for instance, uh, what are your hopes? Your dreams? What do you aspire to be? Television, do you watch television?"

"Some."

"Well now we're getting somewhere... I'm a sucker for all of those pawn shows myself." there was silence for a few seconds.

"Mr. Crane..." Viki began, looking out the window in contemplation.

"Please, call me Alistair..."

"Alistair... what exactly do you have planned for my parents?" she asked.

"Oh, we're not having second thoughts now are we?"

"No, its just..."

"Just what?"

"Just that..."

"Yes?"

"Nothing, nevermind."

"Julian doesn't deserve your sympathy, Viki... neither does Ivy."

"Who said I have sympathy for them?"

"Who said you didn't?"

"They are my parents, I'm bound to feel something for them..."

"I suppose you're right on that..."

"But don't think that means I want to back out... I still want to make them hurt, like I hurt."

"And so you shall, my dear, so you shall... In due time."

"Well, it looks as if Alan got the last of your bags..." he said as he rolled down the automatic window.

"Will this be all, Ms. Viki?" he said, physically exhausted from carrying the large assortment of bags.

"Just throw it in the back and lets get going already..." Alistair replied.

"As you wish, sir..." he said, nodding in acknowledgment.

"Ah... now then." Alistair said as he stretched out his arms and slightly adjusted in his seat.

"Our first order of business will be to make a few stops for this fine young lady here..."

"Where exactly is it we're going?" she asked.

"You're going to enjoy what all young ladies enjoy... We're going shopping." he said with a smile.

Outside, Alan had finally managed to put all the bags in the trunk, then force it shut. He leaned on it and let out a sigh, and made his way back to the drivers side door.

"Where to now, sir?" he asked.

"To the shopping district, and step on it... time is money after all." he said as he adjusted his coat and leaned back in his seat. Slowly, the limo began to pull out. Driving through the main gate, Alan handed his license to the guard.

"Looks good... you can go on through."

"Thank you my good man."

Alistair looked over and noticed a frown on Viki's face.

"Cheer up, my dear..." he said as they drove by the outside gate "You're a free woman now, and the world is your oyster." he took her by the hand, Viki turned around and through gritted teeth looked him in the eyes.

"You..." he began "Are going to have everything you've ever wanted..."

"After all, nothing is too good for my Viki..." he said as he brought his lips down to her hand and kissed it.

Elsewhere, Tabitha and company had finished shopping, and were in the outside seating area of the local ice cream shop.

"Oh, I hate these ice cream cones! The ice cream is always running down my arm!" Tabitha said in annoyance, "Doesn't this place have napkins?"

On cue, Kay appeared with napkins.

"Here you go, Tabitha... One for Endora, and one my sweet princess..."

"You like your ice cream, sweety?"

"Yes."

"You know, strawberry was my favorite when I was a little girl, too... my mom, your grandma used to take me and my sister here everyday." Kay put her hand to her chin in thought and sighed.

"You would of liked her, she was a good mother... Of course, we didn't always see eye to eye..." Kay could feel tears forming in her eyes, but she held them back.

"Would she of liked me?" Maria asked as she ate her ice cream.

"She would of loved you, sweety." on the other side of the table, Tabitha began to sob.

"Whats the matter, mommy?" Endora asked.

"Oh its just so beautiful, sweetpea... its making me cry and I haven't cried in centuries..." Endora patted her mother on the back.

"Oh, I'm so embarrassed Endora. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to some corner to have a good cry..."

Later, all the ice cream had been eaten. Heading towards the car, Tabitha and Endora got inside first. Momentarily distracted, Kay hadn't noticed Maria had been skipping through the parking spaces as if playing hopscotch. What happened next happened so quickly it barely registered in Kay's mind. A car whipped into the parking lot and headed directly towards the spot Maria was in.

The next thing Kay heard was the screech of tires, she quickly turned around.

"Maria!" she screamed, sprinting toward her daughter and pulling her out of the way just in time.

"Are you alright honey?"

"I'm okay mommy..." Kay hugged her daughter.

"Haven't I you told not to play in the parking lot? Or anywhere cars are coming and going..."

"I'm sorry..."

"You be more careful from now on, alright?" Maria nodded.

"Okay... lets head home and you can try on that princess outfit of yours."

"Okay..." Maria went to get in the back.

"That's odd..." Kay thought to herself, even though she had gotten to Maria in time, she still felt pangs of fear in her chest. Was this a sign, some sort of sixth sense that all mothers felt, or was it just a coincidence? Kay just stood there, unsure of what to do next.

"Kay?" Tabitha said.

"Kay?!"

"I'm sorry, what Tabitha?" Kay finally regained her senses, having spaced out for a moment.

"Get a move on, dear... I don't to miss the View. Today they're having Alice Cooper on."

"Okay, sure..."

Elsewhere, at the offices of Crane Industries Julian made his way through to his office on the twenty fifth floor, making his way down the hall he was surprised to see several men going in and out. Getting closer, Julian noticed they were in fact federal agents.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked.

"Are you Julian Linus Crane?" one of the agents asked.

"I'm most certainly am!" the agent took a piece of paper out of his coat.

"You've been served, and you're records seized." He handed him the paper. Julian was speechless.

"What is this about?!"

"It pertains to your father's involvement with the Bertolli crime family..."

"Well, you don't think I had anything to do with that, do you?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Crane, but we can't rule that out..."

"Surely this is some sort of misunderstanding..."

"Our orders were very clear, sir..." the agent put his hand to Julian's chest.

"I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to step away and let the agents do they're jobs..."

"Who do you think you are?!" Julian yelled as he jerked the agent's hand away.

"Coming into this building and giving me orders... you have no right to be here."

"My superior would beg to differ..."

"And who would that be? Some faceless bureaucrat sitting at a desk?!"

"I'd lower my tone of voice, if I were you, sir..."

"Is that a threat?"

"No, that is not a threat... and if you'd calm down, this whole process would be a lot smoother if you just cooperate."

"I want you out of this building, and I want you out now!"

"I can get a court order, you know."

"Fine by me... I could easily destroy the records to keep you and your men from getting your greedy paws on them before you got back."

"I'm sorry, sir... But me and my men aren't leaving here until we've finished what we were sent here to to do, court order or no court order.

"I'll have your job for this..."

"Your threats won't work on me, Mr. Crane..."

"That isn't a threat..." Julian walked towards him and whispered in his ear.

"That's a promise..."

"Oh, I love to see that son of mine squirm!" Alistair commented as he watched what was happening on a screen in his limo. Viki was starring out the window immersed in her own thoughts.

"Oh, come now Viki... don't tell me you don't enjoy seeing this? Its the best show on Earth after all, human misery. It doesn't get much better than that." Viki remained silent.

"Ah, you'll have plenty of time to catch up... the show is only just beginning."

"Good luck, son... you're going to need it for what I have planned."

Back at the office, Julian continued to argue with the agent in charge. Just then, he eyed the legal consul for Crane Industries walking past.

"Peter... Peter?"

"What is going on, here? I thought you had all of this under control?"

"I'm sorry, Julian... I tried to stall them as long I could, but they wouldn't take no for an answer..."

Julian looked on in disbelief, then acceptance began to sink in.

"Its okay, Peter... you did the best you could, I couldn't ask for more than that." he said, patting Peter on the back.

"Now will you let us do our job, Mr. Crane?" the agent asked, Julian stepped by him and went into his office.

"Know this..." he began, pointing a finger at the men rummaging through the files "Come this time tomorrow, I'll have all your badges. And come next week, you'll all be pushing shopping carts..." Julian approached the man in charge.

"Are you finished, Mr. Crane?" he asked.

"No, matter of fact we're far from finished here..." Julian said, hitting the man's elbow as he walked by.

"We will find something incriminating in those files..." the man began, Julian stopped, having walked several feet, and listened. "And we will use it to bring you down... You, and your entire messed up family." Julian turned around to face him.

"You can try, but you'll fail..."

"Goodbye, Mr. Crane. It was... interesting, to say the least."

Julian balled his hand into a fist and gritted his teeth in anger.

"You're not going to get away with this, none of you..." Julian said, then walked off towards the elevator.

Meanwhile, at the Bennett home. Tabitha and Endora are hunkered down in front of the television watching Tabitha's favorite program, Supernatural Pawn.

A zombie walked into the shop.

"Ooh, what do we have here?" the owner of the shop asked.

"This is a strand of Medusa's hair..." he sat it down on the counter, where it morphed into a ravenous snake.

"Cute little fellow, isn't he... What did you want to do with it, pawn it or sell it?"

"Eh, I wanted to sell it..."

"Any particular reason why you want to sell it?"

"Well, my girlfriend and I, she's a troll by the way..." the clerk nodded. "Are getting married, and I needed some fast cash to buy her a wedding ring."

"Now why would you want to sell such a fine piece of merchandise when we have a large assortment of rings right over here..." she walked over to the display that had the rings.

"We have the One Ring, a cursed ring that turns people into stone, Green Lantern's ring..." she paused for a moment. "How did that get there? Anyway..." she said, tossing out the ring from the display case. "We have a ring that drains the life force of who ever wears it, turning them into a husk. Oh, this ring does your taxes for you. This ring is inhabited by the spirit of Leslie Nielsen... she leaned in close to the customer "Just make sure you don't call him Shirley, he hates that!" she whispered.

"I heard that!" he replied from inside the ring.

"Oh, hush you!" she said, giving the ring a slap.

"Here we have a ring that doubles as a lightsaber..." she hit a button on the side of the ring, causing the lightsaber to materialize, she gives it a few good swings. She hit the button again and the beam dissipated.

"You know, I always wanted one of those... They're so much more effective than a weedeater when it comes to trimming the hedges..."

"This ring lets you control the elements... although I'm not sure landscaping could be considered an element, but whatever."

"This ring will cook you a three course meal... And this one here is a holographic ring, put it on and it will transform you into any historical figure." she put it on and was transformed into Martha Washington. Removing it, she returned to her old self. "Just think of all the money you'd save on historic reenactments instead of hiring actors, you yourself can play all the parts!"

"I don't know if any of those are for me..."

"Oh, I'm sure we'll find one you like here somewhere..."

"Oh, I love these kind of shows..."

"Hey, Tabitha... what are you watching?" Kay asked.

"Oh, its one of my favorite programs dear, Supernatural Pawn."

"Now how can someone sell something like that?" Kay asked.

"Its called suspension of disbelief, dear."

"But this is supposed to be reality..."

"It is? And here I thought it was a sitcom..."

"Oh, fiddlesticks... its going off!" Tabitha grabbed the TV Guide and started looking through the schedule.

"Oh, lookie here Kay... the science fictional channel is having an all night marathon of Godzilla movies on Halloween..."

"I didn't know you were into all that stuff, Tabitha..."

"Of course, after all... science is just like magic, only slightly less powerful."

"But, Godzilla... really?"

"Yes, there's nothing I enjoy more than watching giant monsters beat each others brains in..."

"I know where we'll be next week, Endora. Hunkered down right on this couch watching hour after hour of pure violence."

Tabitha looked over at Kay and noticed a frown firmly planted on her face.

"Um, sweetpea... why don't you run upstairs and play with Maria for a spell? I need to have a talk with auntie Kay..."

"Okay..."

"Whats the matter, Kay? You've had that look on your face ever since we got home..."

"Its nothing, really." she let out a weak smile.

"Kay, I've known you ever since you were a little girl, and I can tell when something's troubling you... What is it?"

"Well, you know earlier today, when I had that close call with Maria?"

"Indeed I do. Some mortals couldn't handle a vehicle properly if they're life depended on it... You should of seen me when I first tried to drive, and ended up slamming into a tree, my poor driving instructor was beside himself. It was at that moment I opted out of ever trying to drive again. No sir, a good old fashioned broomstick is all I needed."

"I'm serious, Tabitha..." Tabitha held Kay's hand.

"Oh, dear... It all turned out alright in the end, little Maria is home, she's safe, and she isn't going anywhere."

"I mean, I could of lost my precious little girl, and I'd never see her again..."

"Kay... I can tell something deeper is troubling you, what is it, really?

"Even after I pushed her out of the way of that car... I felt something, something I've never felt before... For the first time in my life, I felt scared... really scared."

"Well, its all over now dearie... you can rest easy, now."

"I don't know... what if something like this happens again, and the next time I'm not there to save her, what then?"

"You mustn't trouble yourself with those kinds of thoughts... Have faith, Kay." A real smile crossed Kay's face.

"You're like a mother to me, you know that?" she said, giving Tabitha a hug.

"Yes, and you're like the daughter I never had..."

"Well..." Kay began, standing up "I guess I'll go help my dad with dinner..."

"Ooh, look at that Endora... a 24-hour marathon of The Blob!" Tabitha said, looking at the television. "Family entertainment at its finest!"

Kay's frown reappeared as she made her way towards the kitchen. She still couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen. She hoped she was wrong.

End of Chapter 3


End file.
